Please read the title again as I would like to make myself clear – I am offering advice on how to be a good actor, not how to be a major superstar. Before even aspiring for that lead role in your dream teleserie, ask yourself first if you have the talent. Be serious when you ask yourself that.

Know the difference between a celebrity and an actor. A celebrity does not always mean “actor” as this would often be defined by the media coverage you attract. An actor does not always mean “celebrity” as some of the most talented actors don’t even get the media mileage they deserve. In this vein, you should be aware that having the talent and the looks are not enough to make it big in Tinseltown.

If you see yourself acting professionally for the long term, you need to prepare yourself for failure. Besides, a long-term career as an actor is not always a guarantee. Even winning talent search competitions like StarStruck can’t guarantee the starring roles in soaps and meaty roles worth the awards. It even happened that some of the runners-up end up having better acting careers than the “grand winners”. And it all boils down to attitude.

You are never too good to skip workshops and training sessions. Sure, acting the part has an element of faking the emotions but that doesn’t mean you will just let it look fake. If you want to go the method acting route, go. But Anthony Hopkins mentioned the side effects of this routine that you can read here. If you’re willing to go miserable and grumpy for the sake of getting a role right, then suit yourself.

Then again, that’s where the workshops come in handy. You are not limited to only one role. If ever, you get to explore all kinds of roles by just letting it all out there. Versatility is good especially if you plan to overcome all objections and silence your critics to kingdom come. Who knows if you end up discovering your type of role?

Headshots are good since you need some photos to send to agencies. But a portfolio to back up the headshot attached in the email would be more than helpful. Experienced actors, even if an agency just saw your email, would be interested to screen you after you give them an idea of what you can do. First impressions come from the kind of headshots that are attached to your portfolio. But that doesn’t mean you’d ignore spicing up your portfolio too. Make it interesting. If ever, adjust it in a way that would get the agencies interested in hiring you by matching it to the vacant roles that they are trying to fill. Once an interview and screening is scheduled, you know you did your part well.

Opportunities don’t fall from trees. You find them. There are events that you can attend either for work or for leisure where you meet people within the same industry. It was mentioned in this article “Marketing Your Play: Questions That Shape The Vision”.

Events where you are plugging your project give you an opportunity to meet more people. Some might need actors for commercials, for short films or for feature films. Agents looking for someone to cast in a soap or a variety show might be there too apart from the press who knew someone somewhere somehow. A friend of a friend of a friend goes a long way and the next thing you know, you belong to the inner circle of the industry.

It’s mostly a social media thing. Some netizens, even if they meant just constructive criticism, still resort to creating dummy accounts so that their feedback will not be taken personally. On the other hand, some self-imposed critics lash out at certain actors for allegedly not having enough acting chops to dish out at a certain role. What if the role required restraint? What if there is no need for histrionics to come up with a believable performance?

Not everyone with a negative feedback meant ill intentions. Feedback is the best way where you can tell if you did a certain role right or if the acting is believable. Believability as opposed to exaggerated theatrics still wins the day. Learning to differentiate the honest comments from comments that just wanted to ruin your day is the clue when it comes to finding ways to improve your craft. There will always be negative feedback, ill intentions and dementors (to borrow that term from Harry Potter) that will eat your happiness. But in the middle of all that crap, genuine feedback still exists. That’s where you start to view your craft artistically then.

There was a manager who was blunt enough to tell her ward “Let’s be honest here. You don’t look nice. You look like a brat with nothing good to do. Accept villain roles and see yourself getting employed constantly”. It risked getting the actress typecast into villain roles in teleseries but she eventually learned the type of roles that suited her. While as an actor, you will not always be stuck in a certain kind of role, much of your repertoire will lean towards it simply because of the way that you look and the skill that back up the look.

Some actors start out as “character actors”. A few of them transcend into becoming lead actors themselves despite less change in facial features or very minor tweaks in the way that they act. In other words, actors like Jeremy Renner still end up getting badass roles despite getting catapulted into lead roles. You may have noticed that in “The Avengers”. Whether he’s on Loki’s side or on The Avengers’ side, his role did not wimp out or go “lamya” mode.

On the other hand, some character actors don’t succeed when trying to go the lead role route. Remember that villain on the film version of “The Count of Monte Cristo”? That’s Guy Pearce, the same actor that bagged the lead role for the underrated sci-fi film “Lockout”. While his strong features meant more villain roles (because he eventually bagged the villain role for “Iron Man 3), he didn’t get typecast in them. He was also on “The Adventures of Priscilla” playing the role of Felicia. Did he end up finding his type of role? Yes. Let’s just say he’s more memorable in baddie roles. The fact that he accepts them meant that he has acknowledged the kind of roles that suited him.

Acting is such a complicated profession. You practice the art of faking your emotions while looking genuine in them. Nevertheless it is a craft worth preserving and harnessing if you plan to do this professionally. I hope I helped you get an idea about acting as a passion. And while you’re at it, please click “Like” on my official Facebook page, Kuya Manzano FanClub. See you around.